Morning Line: On the Trail of the 'Judge Parker' Artist...

By
Michael Cavna

Are you missing your fix of artist Eduardo Barreto -- aka the Man Who Revivified "Judge Parker"? Well, Mike Rhode -- keeper of the excellent blog comicsDC -- alerts us that Barreto is also busy these days with an adaptation of the sci-fi novel-form adventure "Sword of Venus."

In an interview on the Con's site, Barreto says of the new artistic venture: "I think that [Otis Adelbert's] Kline's work captures the classic flavor of the early stages of science fiction. Kline gives us fast paced, adventure filled stories with bigger than life heroes, villains, a gorgeous queen, swordplay, ray guns and alien monsters.

"I agree that there is nothing new here, but I believe that today's audience might find it refreshing in an age where "hard-techno science fiction" rules."

As we await a final verdict on the "Judge" (and I'm assured that the jury is still out, as feedback continues to roll in), the thought of new Barreto works whets our appetites.

I intend absolutely zero snarkiness when I ask with full sincerity: Where-o-where is the "joke" in "Hagar the Horrible" -- or even the feigned attempt at one? With no overt Hagarian gag, today's strip is almost -- dare I say it -- sweet. Surely not what I'm trained to expect from this spouse-kvetching, soul-pillaging strip.

In today's "Baby Blues," the first two panels set us up for countless fertile punch lines -- so much so, we almost prefer to stop before the third panel and make up our own. If you've got a different one you like, we're all ears.